The Truth Concerning Han Solo
by Jedi of Grace
Summary: Han Solo is captured by an Imperial remnant, and when given a truth serum, anything and everything comes pouring out of his mouth. Set in the EU, approx 35 ABY. One shot, just for fun.


"Looking for something?" a voice said from behind him. "Or someone?"

Han stood up. He'd been running, then crouching behind the canister, looking for Leia. He took a frustrated breath and slowly turned around.

"Yeah, I'm lookin' for the 'fresher. Guess you must be the garbage boy?" He collapsed as a gun whacked against his skull.

* * *

Han awoke, disoriented and confused. His memory came flooding back as the man who had captured him knelt down on the floor beside him.

"Well, good afternoon, Captain Solo. How are you feeling this fine day?"

Han stifled a moan. He tried to move his hands, testing to see if they were bound. They weren't, but they felt heavy, almost immovable. He dragged the nearly dead weight of his hand up to his face and rubbed his eyes.

"This truly is a fine day," the man continued as he stood up. "For me to capture the infamous Han Solo makes it a very fine day indeed. When my superiors learn it was I who brought you in, I'm sure a promotion will be forthcoming. Now, you would like to help me accomplish that, wouldn't you? And you'd also like to help save us both time by telling me why you're here, who's here with you, and where your ship is." He poked Han's side with his boot. "Wouldn't you?"

"Oh yeah," Han said as he tried to lift himself up to a sitting position. The man kicked him in the stomach, sending Han crashing back to the floor with a grunt.

"I'm glad you agree. I am Lieutenant Salvan, at your service. You may notice your arms and legs feel a tad heavier than normal. That is because of a special medicine we have given you to make sure you stay, shall we say, calm. No use in taking any chances on you running away from us, now is there?"

So that's why he felt like he weighed as much as a rancor. He worked again to sit up, and this time Salvan let him. He leaned against a crate, carefully looking around. They were in a large tent, the green canvas walls fluttered slightly from the wind outside. He had seen the tents earlier as he'd been scouting around. This appeared to be a temporary base for a small band of Imperial remnants. It was rumored that they were stockpiling weapons here, so he and Leia had been sent...volunteered? He could never tell, but here they were. And now here he was.

"So, Captain, am I correct in assuming you are here alone? On vacation, perhaps?"

Han looked up at him. "Yep."

"I thought so. So we shouldn't bother looking for anyone else?

"Nope." Han looked around him. There were items that could possibly be used as a weapon, but until this drug wore off he wouldn't be able to move much faster than a Hutt. He looked to see Salvan grinning at him.

"It's hard not to think of escape, isn't it? I assure you, the drug will not wear off for some time, and when it does, we have plenty more. I can be here all day, if you like. You could speed things up for us by telling me who else is here with you. Forgive me if I'm a little skeptical of your claim to be alone." Salvan grabbed a folding chair and sat in front of Han. He rested his elbows on his knees, looking down at him.

"It's just me. Lookin' for a fishin' hole."

"I see. Did you find one?"

"Nope. Just a scummy pond full of worms," Han said, pointedly.

Salvan looked at him, then gave a light chuckle. "Too bad. I hear the fishing is good around here. How long have you been here?"

"Few years. Got tired of those high and mighty rebels. Figured I'd lead a quiet life here."

"Hmm. From intelligence reports I've read, I do not believe you are telling me the truth. Are you here with your wife?"

"Nope." Han was practiced enough not to show it, but his heart clenched. He desperately hoped Leia had made it back to the _Falcon_. Once she figured out he wasn't coming...

"Really, Captain, you leave me no choice but to convince you that I am quite serious." Abruptly he stood up and walked around the desk. Han could hear him tapping on something for a moment, presumably a computer. In another minute, two men entered the tent.

"Captain Solo, these men are here to help you realize the serious nature of your situation. If at any time you want to have an honest and open discussion with me, let them know and we can stop this nonsense."

The men came to Han; one picking him up and holding him in a standing position, the other wrapping his fist with tape. Han grimaced.

"I do apologize for the crudeness of our little operation here. I'm afraid we don't have the high tech equipment of the larger Imperial centers. At least not yet. But until we do, we'll have to depend on good, old-fashioned elbow grease. If you have no objections?" He nodded to Han as if Han had agreed with him. "Good. Gentlemen, I leave it to you." With that, Salvan tipped his cap to Han and walked out, leaving him with his two new companions.

The first few hits were just warm up exercises. The next few started to hurt, and the many after that made Han start to wonder if he might actually be in a bit of trouble.

* * *

Han tasted blood. He tried to lick his lips and found they were swollen and cracked. He clenched and unclenched his jaw, working to loosen the stiffness.

"Captain? Would you care for some water?"

Han managed to open a swollen eye and saw shiny, black boots. His face was pressed to an earthen floor. The tent. Salvan. He groaned.

"Or maybe you'd prefer caf?"

Han kept quiet, willing the man to just disappear.

He watched as the boots came closer and with a push, one of the boots rolled him over onto his back.

"No? Pity. I think it might help your disposition. Come now, it's time to wake up. We have things to discuss. Is your ship on planet? How did you arrive without our scanners detecting you?"

"Faulty programming," Han mumbled.

"I think not. How many of your friends are with you?"

"A million."

"Captain, I can't help you unless you give me some honest answers. An Imperial transport is coming, bringing reinforcements. They will scout around and find your friends, and it may not end well for some of them. So how about you tell me now what I want to know?"

"I think I'll wait."

Salvan walked a circle around Han as he laid on the floor. Han's limbs still felt heavy, and every muscle in his body ached. Why couldn't Imps ever create drugs that numbed pain? If he could infiltrate their medical centers, that would be the first thing he would change; all drugs used by Imperials would have a pain reducer added.

"Is your pretty little wife with you? Or perhaps she's safe, and has already left the planet?"

"I don't know," Han said. "Perhaps she's got a sniper rifle on you right now and is preparing to blow your pretty little brains out."

Salvan kicked Han in the ribs. Han curled himself around his poor bruised self, silently cursing Imperial boots. Then he cursed all things Imperial, just for good measure.

"So she's close by? Come on, Solo, give me something; just a yes or no, and I'll get you some water. Deal? Is Princess Leia with you?"

Han made a show of looking around the tent. "I don't see her, do you?"

"Where's your ship?"

"What ship?"

Salvan walked to a nearby table and poured himself a glass of water. Blast if even the sound of water pouring sounded good. Han swallowed nothing and sat himself up. He hated to do it, but he had to hand it to the Imps, this drug worked really well. It was just as effective as binders in keeping him immobile. He could sit, but it felt like he was sitting under a mountain of sand. That and the fact that he was bruised and sore ensured he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. Unless Leia figured something out, that is, which she probably would.

Salvan drank his water slowly as he studied Han. Han pretended not to care as he looked straight ahead of him, quietly taking stock of his surroundings. There appeared to be only one door. He could see daylight coming through the bottom of the doorway, but it looked like it was fading.

Salvan came and sat in front of him again, swirling his cup of water.

"Every minute we waste here brings that shipment of troops closer. They'll also be bringing much more sophisticated interrogation equipment. You could save yourself a whole lot of trouble by just talking to me now."

"Listen, Sal, I'm not your trophy, and I ain't gonna be your buddy and share all of my deep, dark secrets with you. So wake me up when they get here." Han leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Fine." He dumped the rest of his water on Han's face as he got up. "Since you don't seem to feel like talking much, let's see if we can't help you out a bit."

Han didn't like the sound of that.

He wiped his face with his hand as he watched Salvan lift a needle and vial from the table. Oh boy. Sal came and knelt beside him again.

"This won't hurt a bit," Salvan said cheerily, as though to a child. "And maybe now you will be more sociable."

Han licked his lips. So this would probably be a truth serum. He really, _really_ hated Imperials.

Salvan's friends were back. They maneuvered him into a chair, then tied him to it. Not that he could go far on his own, but at least now he wouldn't fall. One less thing to worry about, he supposed.

Salvan was circling him again. "All right, let's try something easy. What is your name?"

"Han Solo." Oh how he hated that desperate urge to speak. He'd had this drug before; a long time ago, before Leia. He hadn't given the information they'd wanted then, and he wouldn't now. But that didn't mean he would be able to keep his mouth shut.

"Good. And your wife's name?"

"Leia Organa Solo," he blurted. "Although sometimes they call her Jedi Solo. She's a Jedi, you know. She could squish your brains into a puddle of bantha slop."

"I'm sure she could." Salvan chuckled. "And your kids? You have children?"

"Yeah. And she's a princess too, so you'd better watch your mouth. She don't take no crap from anyone."

"I see. And what are the names of your children?"

"You know their blasted names. Leia and me picked them out when they were born. You have kids?" Han gave him a look of mock sympathy. "Oh. Probably not. Well, when they're born you get to name them, which is kind of a big deal. When we had the twins, we had no idea what we were doing. But we'd brought these little humans into the galaxy, so we bucked up and figured it out. Couple years later we had Anakin too. He was sure a great kid. Died in the war. I really miss him. Now his brother and sister are Jedis. They clean up garbage like you."

"Are your children here with you?"

Han shook his head, trying to keep his mind off of Salvan's questions. "Jacen looks a lot like me, some people say. Jaina is beautiful, like her mom. Anakin was a bit lighter than the other two. We named him after Leia's father, kind of a remembrance thing, you know? Like from before he went evil. It was important to Leia so I went along with it. Glad I did. We never called him anything stupid like Kin or Ani, just Anakin. Although when he was born Jaina kept calling him Napkin, we sure laughed at that. Jacen always-"

"Where is your wife?" Salvan interrupted.

Didn't that guy ever give up? "She's really beautiful. Smarter'n you and every single Imp put together. I can't believe she married me. I left her once, you know. After my friend died. I'll never do that again. Dumbest thing I ever did. She loves me, can you believe that? I never thought anyone would love me like that."

"It does defy the imagination." Salvan folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah. You should see her with a lightsaber." Han focused on him for a moment. "I'd like to see her chop your head off."

"I'll bet you would. So is she waiting for you? Back at your ship?"

"She bought me these boots." He sort of moved his heavy feet. "I think they're pretty great. She always crabs at me to change my socks more often but when I do, she complains because I leave the dirty socks on the floor by the laundry basket. I just do it to bug her because I like it when she scolds me. She never gets too upset though. Sometimes at night she sticks her cold feet on me. The galaxy is a pretty nice place when you have someone to keep warm." Was he making sense? He didn't really care, the words just poured out and as long as he didn't let anything important slip out, he'd be okay.

"So you were here, sleeping with your wife, enjoying the scenery? Or maybe you were spying on us?"

Han wanted to answer him so badly. Yes, he was spying on them! He shook his head and forced his brain into a different direction.

"The scenery ain't that great. Don't know why you guys decided to build a camp here. You shoulda gone to Mustafar, then maybe we'd leave ya alone."

"'We'? Are your rebel friends here with you? Maybe they're coming to rescue you."

Han smiled. "Leia's rescued me lots of times, even before she was a Jedi. Did you know I was frozen in carbonite one time? You were probably in diapers at the time. It was awful. But she came and got me. I rescued her a few times myself. We take care of each other. She's so pretty."

"Is she coming to rescue you this time?"

"She had to shave her head a few years ago. Even then she was pretty."

"Captain-" a buzzer went off from somewhere to Han's right. Salvan went to check it. Han watched, thinking of Leia. She had to know by now that he was missing. She'd get Luke and maybe the kids... Although they were probably kind of far away. Well, she'd figure something out. She always did.

"Yes? Oh really? How delightful! I'll be right there." Salvan returned to Han, smiling.

"Well, Captain, I might just have a little surprise for you. If you will excuse me? I need to go check on something. I'll be back, sit tight."

Han had a very bad feeling about this.

* * *

"So, Captain, how are you feeling? Comfortable?"

Han startled awake. He'd been dozing, his head hanging down in front of him. He felt like the drug was wearing off and he had a bit more in control of his thoughts.

"I've been better. How you doing?"

"Oh, I'm quite well. I think perhaps we should up your dosage a little. We don't want you getting quiet, now do we?"

Han mentally rolled his eyes. So much for it wearing off.

Salvan gave him another injection, wiggling the needle around a bit for good measure. Han didn't bother to flinch.

"There. That's a pretty high dosage. Anything you feel like telling me?"

"You really are an ugly fellow. No wonder you don't have any kids." Salvan lashed out, smacking Han on the side of his head with his fist.

"How many of your friends are here?"

"That really hurt."

"Does the Galactic Alliance know of our base here?"

"I dunno. Did you tell them about it? You should. It's not legal for you to be here."

Another smack caused Han to see stars for a minute.

"Ouch," he said. "I wish you'd stop that."

"I grow impatient." He gestured behind Han. Han heard shuffling and movement behind him as more people entered the tent.

"I'm really thirsty," Han said. The urge to speak was so great, it was almost a marvel. "How about some of that caf? Or just water. You could even throw it at my face again, I'll just open my mouth." Han stopped talking as the group of newcomers came to stand in front of him. There, her face bruised, her clothes torn and dirty, was his beautiful wife.

"Leia, you shouldn't be here," Han said, his brain not quite able to compute everything he was seeing.

Salvan grabbed a handful of Leia's hair, wrenching her head back to look up at him. "So this is the pretty wife you've been telling me about? She doesn't look very good to me. You should take better care of her."

"Get your hands-" The guard beside him whacked his head from behind. Han fought to stay conscious as he let his head hang down.

"Leia... How did you find her?" he murmured. He knew Leia wasn't very easy to capture; those Jedi senses always telling her when someone was near...

"She surrendered to us. I guess she couldn't stand to be away from you. Now, Captain Solo, will you be reasonable? I'd hate to see you put through any more discomfort." He released Leia's hair, smoothing it down her back. Han held his breath to try to keep from saying something. He _hated_ it when people touched her.

Salvan was gentle as he moved her hair to the side, exposing the back of her neck to him. He massaged lightly, slowly wrapping his hands around her throat.

"As for the princess, well, she's so tiny, she wouldn't hold up very long if I were to let the boys here have her for awhile. You wouldn't want to see that, trust me. So how about we have some conversation?"

"Sure. I like talking." He looked at Leia. "Hey, hon. I missed you."

Salvan shoved Leia towards a guard, who caught and held her.

"Fine. If you won't answer me, maybe she will." Salvan walked to the table, giving Han an unobstructed view of Leia. She gave him a small smile.

"Hey, I missed you too."

He smiled at her through his cracked lips. "I missed you more. These guys aren't any fun and that one there stinks bad. We're never coming back to this planet again."

"Sounds good."

"Enough." Salvan gestured to the guards, who turned Leia towards him. He grabbed her shirt sleeve at the elbow and jerked, ripping it from the seam at her shoulder.

"Hey!" Han yelled. Salvan ignored him and quickly injected two vials into her arm.

"We don't want to take any chances on your Jedi woman using her powers on us, now do we? So now you both have matching chemicals coursing through your veins. Isn't that sweet? So, let's talk. Who else is with you here on the planet?"

When Leia only shrugged, he backhanded her, knocking her to the floor. Her hands were bound, so she hit the ground hard.

"Hey! Don't do that! She doesn't like it!" Han thought maybe he sounded a little childish, but blast it all, she _didn't_ like it!

Salvan walked to Han.

"Come now, Captain, this is your woman!" He gestured to Leia. "Where is your honor, man? A soldier like yourself, choosing to let his wife suffer?"

"Go to hell." There. _That_ wasn't childish.

Salvan's fist made contact with Han's jaw with a loud crack.

"Where is your ship?"

"Dunno. But I know something else." Oops. Maybe he shouldn't have said that.

"Oh? Like what?"

Han searched his brain desperately for something to say. What he wanted to say was that Leia knew how to keep drugs from affecting her. Those Jedi skills sure came in handy sometimes.

Salvan leaned down, putting his face right in front of Han's. "What do you know, Captain?"

"I know you're a dead man."

"Why's that?"

"Scum like you never live very long." Smack! Han was sure tired of getting whacked in the head. But he also wanted to keep Sal's attention on himself and off of Leia.

Han looked down at Leia. Her lip was bleeding, she was scratched and a large bruise was forming on her forehead, but she held his eyes. Wait, he knew that look. She had a plan.

"Wanna know what else I know? Your tiny little outpost here ain't even big enough to bother with real buildings. If you got blown off the map, the rest of the Imps wouldn't even blink."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I think so. I also think you're bluffing and there aren't any reinforcements coming. My head really hurts. But know what else? I helped take down your Empire a while back. You're nothing but a remnant. You'll never be anything more. You've got all these little friends who you think make you strong." Han snorted, which hurt, but he ignored it. "You're nothin' but an insignificant pawn."

Salvan nodded silently at Han as he backed away from him. He gestured to the guards, who brought Leia upright again. Han tried not to blanch. So much for keeping his attention.

"How about you, Princess? What do you know?"

"Same as Han."

"Hmm. You're not very talkative. Do you like seeing your husband hurt? It can get a whole lot worse, you know."

She looked to Han like she was going to faint.

"That's odd," he said before he thought better of it. Leia shouldn't be fainting, unless maybe she was trying to distract...

"What's odd?" Sal turned to him. Leia used that moment to lash out with her legs. In a split second she was free of the guards. The binders on her wrists clanked to the floor and her leg went in a wide arc around her, clobbering all three in one lightning fast spin.

"I love it when you do that," Han almost slurred. She quickly grabbed the fallen men's guns. Adjusting one of the weapons, she fired three times, stunning them. She came to Han and quickly worked the knots in the rope securing him to the chair.

"I really love you," he said as she helped him stand.

"I know you do," she replied. He leaned heavily on her, his legs still felt like wooden logs attached to his body.

"I don't know if I can walk. But I like holding onto you."

"Hmm." She looked around. "Hold on, sit here for a sec." She carefully set him down again.

"Hey, I don't wanna sit anymore. I wanna go. Let's go!"

"I know, but I can't carry you, so hold on." She kissed him gently on the lips before walking around the desk.

"I wanna kiss you more." He really had less and less control over what came out of his mouth. Good thing the Imps were out of commission.

She laughed. "Later, we need to move." She brought a chair with wheels and helped him get into it. It was a good thing he was drugged, because he was pretty sure in any other circumstance he would not like being pushed around like this. But right now he didn't seem to mind at all. He watched as she tied him back up.

"Why you tying me up again?"

"So you don't fall."

"Oh. Good idea."

"All right. Do you feel secure enough?"

"I dunno. I'm thirsty."

"I know. We'll get you fixed up soon. Let's get out of here first." She put a gun in his lap, then suddenly drew up her own and fired at the doorway. A man Han hadn't seen before dropped to the ground.

"Wow! That was a close one," he said. She went and dragged the body forward, clearing the path for them to roll out the door.

"He must be heavy. Sorry I can't help but they drugged me. Imperials have the worst drugs and their needles are huge. I hate them."

"Me too," she said as she returned to Han and proceeded to wheel him out the door. The sun had set long ago. The only light came from the few lamps that hung on the tents.

"Where is everybody?"

"Sleeping, I think. We need to be quiet so we don't wake them." She pushed Han along a path, heading for the surrounding forest.

"This is kinda bumpy."

"Shhh, just hold on. We'll get to a safe place and hole up until you feel better. I can't push you all the way to the _Falcon_."

"Well, okay. My head hurts. You're really dirty. Am I that dirty?"

"Yes." She stopped and blasted another Imp. He noticed she'd put her blaster on silent mode.

"You're so clever. Why's your hair so messy?"

"I was crawling through the bushes trying to figure out where you were. Then I had to somehow surrender so they'd take me to you. I'll tell you about it later. Now shh, we don't want anyone to hear us."

"I'll try but I really want to talk. I didn't like it when he touched your hair. Made me so mad. Whoa! Almost dropped me there."

"Shhh!"

"Oh yeah. Shhh. Right." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I was a little worried earlier. Thought I mighta finally run out of luck. I was mostly sad 'cause I didn't want to leave you. My eyes are feeling heavy. Is that normal? You're really good at rescuing me. As long as we keep rescuing each other, we could just go on forever."

"Yeah, we could. But if you don't shut up they're going to hear us." She steered him around a tree and stopped.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I'm trying to remember which way to go. Shh."

"I'll be quiet. It's just hard because they gave me a drug to make me talk. Did I tell you my plan? I'm gonna infiltrate their...uh, the wherever-they-make-drugs place, and put pain-killers in everything they make. Isn't that a good idea?"

"Han."

"What?"

"Shhhh!"


End file.
